into arctic air and snow continues across central minnesota into the peninsula of michigan. john and marci, back to you. >> sam champion will have the latest on those twisters as daylight reveals the full extent of the damage. now to the latest on the korean peninsula. they're moving some might in preparation for a missile launch from the north. >> and the pentagon has a hi high-tech radar in place. here are new details with abc's devin dwyer who is in washington. good morning, devin. >> reporter: this morning u.s. officials believe a north korean missile launch is imminent. the pentagon says this high-tech floating radar is now up and running joining a flotilla of naval destroyers off the korean coast for early detection. >> we have to assume the worst case. that's why we're postured as we are today. >> reporter: all eyes on the musudan pointed at the sky. it's never been tested but could reach u.s. bases in okinawa or

guam more than 2,000 miles away. there are fears this could fall on south korea or japan which positioned patriot missiles around tokyo. >> one of the concerns that the u.s. has right now is that the south korea will get too aggressive on any pro-tension response to a provocation and may do something wholly disproportionate and let the situation get out of hand. >> reporter: for now business as usual in seoul as the north continues its war of words. this pyongyang resident says a military clash would turn south korea into a sea of fire. the tough talk raising anxiety about what leader kim jong-un will do. >> he doesn't check with me on his decisions or how he's feeling. >> reporter: experts believe a launch could be timed to the birthday of north korea's founder kim il-sung monday. the nation's biggest holiday, a moment north korea has used before to show off its military power, marci. >> devin dwyer live in washington, thank you. to the end of a hostage drama in suburban atlanta.

police say the armed gunman was having financial problems, demanding that his cable and power be turned back on. but when the situation in suwanee, georgia, took a dangerous turn they moved in. with the latest. alex stone. [ sirens ] >> reporter: the dramatic standoff ended when a s.w.a.t. team stormed the house where a gunman was holding four firefighters hostage. there was an explosion and g gunshots. >> they made entry into the home. what you heard when you heard the explosions. gunfire exchanged between the suspect and our s.w.a.t. team. the suspect is deceased at this time. >> reporter: the four firefighters who were also emergency medical technicians suffered from superficial wounds. a s.w.a.t. officer shot in the hand or arm. the injury is not life-threatening. >> we're all thankful our firefighters are okay and police officers will be okay. our thoughts and prayers are with this individual a family. >> reporter: the ordeal began when five firefighters responded to what seemed like a routine medical emergency.

>> we have an armed person, and he is armed and we are in the room with him. >> reporter: one firefighter was allowed to leave to move a fire truck then the suspect began making demands. >> demands were to have his power turned back on. apparently he's going through some financial issues and wanted all those things turned back on and he was holding his wife hostage. >> reporter: they were in communication with him and provided food. >> it got to a point where we believed their lives were in immediate danger and our s.w.a.t. team made a decision to go in there and neutralize the situation. >> reporter: alex stone, abc news, los angeles. now, some politics. president obama had company for dinner last night. he was joined by a dozen republican senators for what was described as a wide-ranging policy discussion among the issues, reducing the deficit, fixing the nation's immigration system and reducing gun violence. those senators will vote today on whether to open a full debate on the gun control issue. it seems likely that a

bipartisan deal to expand background checks on those guns and sales is in place. those made online and the nra says that's thought the issue and that will not reduce gun violence. first lady michelle obama added her voice to the fight over guns with a rare show of emotion. came yesterday on a conference at youth violence in chicago. mrs. obama recalled the death of a girl in january one week after she performed at the president's inauguration. >> as i visited with the pendleton family at hydeia's funeral, i couldn't get over how familiar they felt to me. because what i realized was hydeia's family was just like my family. hydeia spendle ton was me, and i was her. but i got to grow up. >> pendle ton was shot while hanging out with friends in a chicago park. mrs. obama called on the audience to do something worthy

of the girl's memory. coming up some major menu changes at a popular fast food chain. and it's the multimillion dollar debate but now a decision has been reached about saturday mail delivery. and fearless or maybe crazy. the guy who grabbed and wrestled a giant snake in the middle of the everglades.

. here's some good news. summer gas prices expected to be at their lowest in three years. crude oil prices and more efficient vehicles now on the road are behind this according to an outlook by the energy department. the report goes on to say drivers can expected to pray an

average of $3.63 for a gallon of regular unleaded. another wall street record has stocks continuing their upward march. fufled by gains in technology companies, the dow jones finished in record territory for a second straight day gaining 128 points. that means three stocks rose for every one that fell. the s&p also topped its 2007 record high, gaining 19. home foreclosures across the u.s. are at their lowest levels in more than five years. all told, lenders repossessed more than 43,000 homes last month, according to realtytrac, the report says steady job growth and ultra low mortgage rates are the biggest factors contributing to the decline. well, a decision to stop saturday delivery of the mail is now being delayed. the u.s. postal service says congress forced it to continue the weekend delivery because stopgap budget they passed prohibits the move. it was made in february after the postal service lost a record

$15 billion last year. sales drop in personal computers last month is the worst in history. first quarter shipments fell 14% worldwide from this time last year. that's according to tracking firm international data corp. the dislike of microsoft's windows 8 operating system on the new computers and the popularity of mobile devices are the biggest reasons in the decline. fast food giant tack co-bell is looking to change its menu to provide better nutrition. the plan is to have 20% of its combo meals meet one-third of the federal government's recommended dietary guidelines. the move comes as legislators, activists and parents are pushing for healthier choices. one catch, though, you'll have to wait until 2020. what are they waiting for? >> i don't know but some taco bell sounds good about now. next on thursday, family feud, a private jet just for dogs and more spectacular spending, the tabloid worthy trial ahead. the clerk armed only with a bat battling burglars despite

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and made to order. chili's new $6 lunch break combos. more life happens here. all right, a chilly surprise for home owners in wisconsin waking up to find their backyards filled with ice. the massive ice piled up on to the shores of lake win bag go stacked up 30 feet high in some places and strong winds pushed it from the water to the land and many longtime residents have never seen anything quite like it. road conditions, wet commute in the eastern half drenched by rain and thunderstorms. flooded roads around chicago and detroit. snow-covered highways from the dakotas to minnesota. slick mountain passes in the northern rockies. if you're flying, airport delays possible in minneapolis, chicago, detroit, charlotte, atlanta and new orleans. the parents accused of kidnapping their children and taking them to cuba are due in court. >> joshua and sharyn hakken are

facing child neglect, kidnapping and the children are back with their grandparents who have legal custodies. friends and former employees of the hakkens can't believe how far off track they were. now convicted of murder, a los angeles jury found christian gerhartsreiter guilty of killing his landlord son three years all. john sulus. his wife was never found. and defense attorneys tried unsuccessfully to pin the murder on her. they say the client is a con man but not a killer. playing out in a florida courtroom a scandal worthy of the tabloids. lois pope, the widow of the founder of the "national enquirer" filed restray inordering against her own son and says despite his $20 million inheritance he's been demanding money from her resorting to

stalking and physical threats. paul pope has filed a countersuit claiming his mother reneged on a perhaps to pay him a lifetime income of $1 million a year. well, store owner in hauge is thankful to be alive after fighting a gun-toting robber with just a baseball bat and a lot of nerve. check it out. the surveillance video shows lou louis kesh bravely fighting off the robber with a bat even though he fired a shot. the robber got away and kesh suffered a gunshot wound to the leg and expected to return to the store he owned for 28 years. security cameras caught a student dressed as a banana and another in a red lobster costume as they carried out a heist at the university of north carolina and broke into the student union building after hours and made off with a piece of artwork worth 200,000 bucks. prank or not they consider it a serious charge. the man who carried out this has been described as a wild man and you are about to see why. he is everglades tour guide

tommy owen and on tuesday, he took on a ten-foot python and won. owen says when he saw the snake swimming along his instincts kicked in so he just ambushed it. he and another guide killed it because they're destroying native species across the everglades. >> one brave dude or crazy. maybe a little of both. time for sports and the push for the nba playoff highlights from espn. cassidy hubbarth with your "sportscenter" update, the lakers up half a game on the jazz entering their matchup against portland and kobe bryant played like a man on a mission. hitting the three with a shot clock winding down and there was more from bryant in this one. under five to play, he hits a jumper and lakers up six. under a minute left, steve blake corrals the loose ball and gives it up to pau gasol who throws it up and lobs it to dwight howard

and lakers get the 113-106 win. the spurs trying to hang on to that top spot in the west taking on the nuggets. just over 30 seconds left in the first, huge block on gary neal and corey brewer finishes at the other end. he had 28 points. nuggets down 6. under a minute left in the third, duncan rejected by mcgee, then duncan rejected by wilson chandler. big fundamental. what's wrong? next possession, chandler goes right through the lane and throws it down. he had 29 points. nuggets win, 96-86. to the diamond, the braves visiting the marlins. in the fifth inning, evan gaddic, he's been red hot and goes deep to left field, a three-run bomb, third home run of the season and second in as many days. two batters later, juan francisco goes to center. a two-run shot, two ribbies and the braves win 2-0.

that's your "sportscenter" update, i'm cassidy hubbarth. have a great morning. the red sox lost to the orioles at fenway park, was not a sellout. >> that ends the longest home sellout streak in major pro-sports history. they played before packed houses for 820 consecutive games. a milestone. up next "the pulse" and prove that "tonight show" host likes us, likes watching this newscast apparently. >> we'll tell you all about it. plus, getting love and attention, where this dog was rescued at is pulling at the heartstrings of one town. why could her days as a supermodel be over? soulmate. husband. loving father to your children. but first you've got to get him to say, "hello." new crest 3d white arctic fresh toothpaste. use it with these 3d white products,

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when i'm ray billionaire ♪ whoa oh ♪ a billionaire worthy story to top "the pulse." we begin with the sale of a piece of jackie o.'s history. >> the greek island where she married aristotle onassis has been sold, 28-year-old athena onassis rosell is said to have agreed to sell the island to a russian billionaire for 153 million bucks. aristotle incidentally is buried on the island with his daughter and son and bought it in the '60s for about $12,000. >> $12,000. good return on investment. >> i guess so. up next, is she or isn't she? there are conflicting reports about the future of victoria's secret model miranda kerr. >> and now "us weekly" is reporting that kerr has suddenly been dropped by the company deciding not to renew her three year, $1 million contract. the wife of orlando bloom is

said to have a, quote, difficult reputation. >> but a victoria's secret executive is shooting down the report even saying that she will be prominently featured this year. >> hmm, all right. our early morning broadcast got some love from jay leno last night. >> he liked one of the stories we did right around this time but pay close attention to what they did to my voice. >> do you know about this chair prank on youtube. here's the story. take a look. >> all right, some people taking a break at a california coffee shop got the scare of a lifetime. magician rich ferguson disguised himself as part of a chair frightening anyone who sat on him, his highest profile victim to date, joe biden. >> aagh! >> and from now on i'm going to read the news like this. >> that was pretty great. we made -- i didn't get to say a

word. >> at least they didn't change your voice. >> yes. >> when you hear that you pop up on "the tonight show" it could have been a lot worse. we could have been the butt of the joke. at least it was joe biden. pretty big thrill. this next guy is looking for a home after surviving a harrowing ordeal. he was tied to railroad tracks left to die, thankfully the train's engineer was able to pull the emergency brake just in time. >> he told authorities they no longer wanted the dog and hundreds lining up to adopt the pop. thank you so much. i appreciate it. i'll be right back. they didn't take a dime. how much in fees does your bank take to watch your money? if your bank takes more money than a stranger, you need an ally. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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